


St. James Ballroom

by FandomLife54



Category: Captain America (Movies)
Genre: Closeted Character(s), Dancehalls, Dancing, Domestic Fluff, Dreams and Nightmares, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Period-Typical Homophobia, Post-Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Pre-War Bucky, Songfic, The Author Regrets Nothing, bit of angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-30
Updated: 2017-06-30
Packaged: 2018-11-21 10:36:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,107
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11355723
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FandomLife54/pseuds/FandomLife54
Summary: Steve is dreaming that he's back in one of the old dance halls in Brooklyn, except Bucky's there and he's asking Steve to dance. Fear-stricken, Steve think's Bucky's insane but he must be, too, because he wants nothing more than to say yes.Or“You’re asking me to dance?” His heart skips a beat, fingers twitching at his side.Bucky snorts. “Well, yeah, that’s what we’ve been practicing all week for.”“All week...?” Steve squints, his mind foggy. “No, we…” What did they do that week? Steve takes a glimpse around, searching for a clue, when reality drops his stomach from under him. A wave of dread rolls through him, the happy atmosphere oblivious to his mental break. “We practiced so you could come dance with dames. Not me. We- we can’t, Buck, you know that.”





	St. James Ballroom

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, my lovelies. This fic was inspired by the wondrous Alice Francis and her song St James Ballroom. I adore the thought of Steve and Bucky dancing along to this song and I wanted to write a fic about it. Sadly, I'm not great at weaving a story and lyrics efficiently, especially when I'm trying to describe a dance scene. But I did my best! Hopefully some of you can appreciate that. Anyway, I hope you enjoy the fic. If you do, leave some kudos and a comment. I love hearing from you all. Thank you!

“Hey, you listening?”

 

Steve gasps, his eyes snapping open as his surroundings come into focus. The band on stage is playing it’s hearts out, the jiggy tune pulling a crowd center-floor as they laugh and twirl in their shined shoes and colorful dresses. He’s in the dance hall a couple blocks from his old place in Brooklyn... the one they tore down to make a grocery store.

 

“Stevie?” Bucky snaps his fingers. “S’wrong? Come on, the next song is starting.”

 

“ _ Bucky _ .” The word is breathless, pulled from the deepest pit of Steve’s soul. Bucky is young again: fresh-faced and painted with amusement, short-haired and dressed in his fancy threads he keeps tucked away for special occasions. He looks good, shoulders relaxed and his posture giving off his cool confidence. Bucky makes a weird face, laughing as he grabs Steve’s hand, their fingers tangling. A dark spear pierces Steve’s heart and he rips his hand away, staggering when realizes it’s frail and bony. His gaze wanders down the rest of him, all skin and bones draped in his too-big clothes. “W-How..?” 

 

“Just like I showed ya. You’ll do fine, I promise,” Bucky flashes his teeth;  _ a genuine, bright-as-the-summer-sun smile. _ The back of Steve’s eye’s burn just knowing it’s there. Then the words click.

 

“You’re asking me to dance?” His heart skips a beat, fingers twitching at his side.

 

Bucky snorts. “Well, yeah, that’s what we’ve been practicing all week for.”

 

“All week...?” Steve squints, his mind foggy. “No, we…” What did they do that week? Steve takes a glimpse around, searching for a clue, when reality drops his stomach from under him. A wave of dread rolls through him, the happy atmosphere oblivious to his mental break. “We practiced so you could come dance with dames. Not me. We- we can’t, Buck, you know that.”

 

His smile falters a little and it’s like a punch to the chest, Steve biting his cheek. 

 

“Don’t tell me you’re getting cold feet. S’okay if you step on my shoes. All you gotta do is shine them once we’re home, good as new.” 

 

Bucky reaches his hand out again for anyone to see, obviously inviting Steve to take it, and Steve panics, pushing it down and away before the others could suspect.

 

“ _ Bucky,”  _ Steve begs, his eyes pleading up at him.

 

“ _ Steve _ ,” Bucky counters, exasperation twisting his face. “I don’t get it, this was your idea. You were so excited just a minute ago. You practiced so much!”

 

“You think I don’t wanna dance with you?  _ We can’t.” _

 

_ “We can,  _ Steve. We’re here, all we have to do is-”

 

“You know that’s not what I’m talking about.”

 

“It’s just dancing, Steve.”

 

_ “It’s not just dancing! _ ” Steve screams a little too loud, a few pairs of eyes glancing their way before Steve forces his voice to a quiet hiss. “It’s not just dancing, it’s two fellas dancing together. If everyone sees they’re gonna know and they’re gonna _ kill us _ , Buck. _ You know this _ , I don’t know what the hell you’re trying to pull here.”

 

“I’m not trying to pull anything. I just wanna dance with my fella, same as everyone else.”

 

“ _ You know  _ what people think of things like that. Of people like  _ us _ . They’ll-”

 

“Not everyone’s like that.”

 

“WELL ENOUGH PEOPLE ARE.” Tears flood the small blond’s cheeks, his breaths coming in short and strained. “Enough are and the rest will either decide to join in or they’ll just stand by and watch. And I can’t-” he sobs, eyes squeezing shut. “I can’t lose you, Bucky. I won’t.”  _ Not again. _

 

Steve buries his face in his hands, turning away to hide his burning skin. He knows people are staring, he can feel their eyes on him and it only makes him burn hotter. 

 

“...But you’re _ gonna _ lose me _ …” _

 

And just like that, all the heat is swept away and ice as cold as the Alps flood Steve’s veins. For a moment he can even see his breath, the echo of a locomotive charging over icy rails in the distance.

 

“What did you say…?” Steve whispers, slowly twisting around.

 

Bucky bites his lip, smile heavy and forced as his eyes glow dull where they were so bright just a moment ago. 

 

“I ship out tomorrow, Stevie…” he shrugs, his gaze reaching the ceiling as he tries not to cry. “And you’re right. I do know how people are today. Maybe in a hundred years things might be different, but… but I don’t have a hundred years, Steve. I don’t know if I’ve even got one.” Steve chokes back a whimper as Bucky’s face crumples and frowns. “But I got tonight. And whether it’s spent here dancing with you or back at our place lying around on our couch, I don’t care. I just wanna spend as much time with you as I can. Not some random dames.  _ You _ .”

 

“Bucky…” Steve mumbles, desperately wiping his eyes with his sleeves.

 

Bucky heaves a breath through his nose, lips tugging up at the corner. 

 

“Come on,” he says with an aborted touch, shoving his hands in his pockets. “We can always dance along to the radio at our place while they’re still broadcasting.”

 

“No,” Steve tugs his arm, Bucky swinging his head in awe. “I want to dance with you. Here.”

 

“You sure?” he asks as hope lights his face. 

 

Steve smirks. “We practiced all week.”

 

They lead each other out to the dancefloor, a woman in a stunning beaded dress making her way to the front of the stage. The drummer picks up a beat with his hi hat, a trumpet joining in as the woman shares a dazzling smile and wave to the cheering crowd. 

 

She leans in close, lips pressed lovingly to the mic. 

 

**_Welcome to St. James Ballroom_ **

 

Steve looks at Bucky, both of them buzzing with it all. Bucky holds out his hand, Steve taking it as they start to dance.

 

**_Whoo!_ **

 

They’re swinging this way and that, one of Bucky’s arms wrapped around Steve’s waist as they kick their legs to the beat, the other stretched out with their hands clasped together, strong. 

 

**_Daba down at St. James Dogtown_ **

**_It was almost after dark_ **

**_I did the hotty-hot tap all night_ **

**_Until almost freakin’ out_ **

 

He spins Steve once-

 

**_Then you_ **

 

-dipping Steve close to the floor-

 

**_Stepped into the room_ **

 

-and eases him back up, slow and careful. 

 

**_Then you grabbed my arm and pulled me_ **

**_Keenly by your side_ **

**_In the middle of the ballroom’s dancefloor_ **

**_And the crazy bouncing crowd_ **

 

Steve feels his breath hitch, eyes darting from their feet to the crowd around them.

 

“You okay?”

 

**_Then we_ **

 

“T-they’re staring.”

 

**_Were becoming real_ **

 

Bucky chuckles. “Let them.”

 

**_The girls were shakin’ their fans_ **

**_Shakin’ their fans shakin’ their fans_ **

 

_ “Buck.” _

 

_ “Just look at me.” _

 

**_Guys doing the tap dance_ **

**_Movin’ their feet wavin’ their hands_ **

 

“ _ It’s just you and me.” _

 

**_Oh oh what a crazy man_ **

 

_ “Just you and me,”  _ Steve hums.

 

**_And I don’t know what-what you do_ **

**_I like everything ‘bout you_ **

**_Your smile_ **

**_Your face_ **

**_Your bod Your moves_ **

**_How you tip and tap your shoes_ **

 

**_I know what you do to me_ **

**_Mister you make me crazy_ **

**_Ziblehibblebabblebubble bang!_ **

 

**_Now kiss me at St. James Ballroom_ **

 

…

 

Steve peels his eyes open gingerly, the morning sun shining through his blinds. He frowns, searching for the small noise whirring out when he spots his earphones on his pillow. With a tap to his phone the music stops and he rests his head in his hands. 

 

In the quiet he is suddenly aware of a more distant sound.  

 

Peeking through the crack in his door, Steve spots the culprit, a smile spreading across his face. He lets the hinges creak as the door slides open, standing in the doorway a moment as those gorgeous blue irises catch his.

 

Bucky’s standing in the kitchen wearing sweatpants and one of Steve’s t-shirts, hair spilling out of his messy bun with stubble littering his face. 

 

“Hey,” he greets, concern pinching his eased tone. Two mugs clink against the counter, Steve already marching forward. “I saw you kinda fidgeting in your sleep there. I wasn’t sure if you wanted me to wake you-” 

 

Steve’s hands cup either side of Bucky’s face to bring their lips together soft and warm, Bucky’s palm sliding to rest in the dip of Steve’s back. He feels Bucky gasp against him, tugs him closer, holds him tighter. They break apart with a pant, Bucky pressing his forehead to Steve’s as they catch their breath. 

 

Bucky is gently scraping his nails through the fabric of Steve’s shirt, fingers digging in where they clutch his shoulder. 

 

“You okay?”

 

“Mhhm,” Steve dips his head to steal another kiss. “Thanks for not waking me up. I needed to get through that.”

 

“You wanna talk about it?”

 

He considers the offer for a moment. “Maybe later. Right now I wanna ask you something.”

 

Bucky looks at him with round eyes. “Shoot.”

 

“Will you go out with me?”

 

Bucky snorts, pushing Steve away without ever really losing any body contact. “Steve, we’re boyfriends.”

 

“I know. Doesn’t mean I can’t ask my fella out to a night of dancing.”

 

Bucky freezes. “You wanna go dancing?”

 

“Yeah,” Steve hesitates. “If you want, I mean. Thought it might be fun. There’s a few places around here that still hold dances from our day. None of the new dance styles people do nowadays, I don’t get that.”

 

“You sound like an old man.”

 

“I am an old man. You’re even older, shut up.”

 

Bucky laughs, Steve mapping the wrinkles on his skin as he smiles. When he notices, Bucky stops, a furrow between his brows. “What?”

 

Steve stands there silent a moment longer. “You’re so beautiful.” A red flush tints Bucky’s face and the man drives his palm into Steve’s cheek, mushing it all around as the blond splutters until he’s finally swatting the hand away, grinning. “ _ Pfft _ , Bucky!”

 

“You can’t just say shit like that out of nowhere! Give a guy a decent warning, at least for my heart’s sake. The hell did you dream about?”

 

“Just you and me dancing. Think you might wanna give it a try?”

 

“We’ve danced together before, Steve, how do you think you learned?”

 

“I know but never around other people. It’s safe to do that now. We don’t have to hide anymore.”

 

“I know, pal, but…” he trails off, hands rubbing nervously against Steve’s back. 

 

“It’s ok to be scared, Buck.”

 

“I ain’t scared.” 

 

“I am.” 

 

A silence falls between them, the air in the room suddenly thin. Bucky casts his eyes aside, fingers clenched into the fabric of Steve’s shirt. 

 

“You sure you wanna do this?”

 

“Only if you’re my partner. Ain’t no one else I’d rather dance with,” Steve leans in close, nosing his face close to Bucky’s. “But only if you want to. And I mean that, Buck. No faking smiles because you think it’ll make me happy.” He sighs, wrapping his arms a little tighter around Bucky’s waist. “I just.. I just wanna prove to myself that I could do it. That I could be with you like we always wanted to be but couldn’t. Not back then.”

 

Bucky pulls Steve back, their eyes fixed in intense focus. “You  _ are _ with me.”

 

Steve’s eyes grow wide, softening as he lets out a small chuckle.  “You’re right,” he says, kissing his temple. “Sometimes I forget what year it is. I get back in that mindset that we’re still hiding from everyone behind closed doors. Makes me wanna pull us out of the dark, show the world how much I love ya just ‘cuz I can.”

 

Pink stains Bucky’s cheeks and Steve can’t help the smile on his lips when warmth comes flooding his chest. Bucky shoves Steve out of his arms, failing to mask his smug face, and walks to the center of the room. 

 

“Well, then. Since you insist on parading me around like some prize-”

 

Steve barks out a laugh, crossing his arms. “ _ I didn’t say that. _ ”

 

Bucky turns to him with a gleam in his eye. “I ain’t gonna let you waltz us around, unprepared. If we go dancing, we’re gonna do it right. Which means we gotta practice a routine for our big performance.”

 

“There will be like ten other people there, Buck.”

 

“That’s ten more than we’ve ever danced in front of. At least together.” Bucky stretches out his hand, Steve grinning ear to ear when he takes it, Bucky pulling Steve in fast. “You got a song in mind, dollface?”

 

Steve hums, “I know just the one.”


End file.
